The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for regulating a generator of an internal combustion engine.
To supply electrical energy in a motor vehicle generators, which are driven by an engine of the vehicle, are commonly used. These generators are usually three phase generators having an excitation coil, through which an excitation current flows. The voltage regulator controls the excitation current so that the output voltage of the generator is substantially constant and somewhat higher than the nominal battery voltage.
During starting the motor is brought to the required minimum rotation speed by a starter. After the motor reaches this minimum rotation speed the starter is disengaged from the motor. Since the motor must additionally drive the generator, the starting phase is prolonged thereby.
Also after conclusion of the starting phase the rotation speed of the motor can drop in a short time interval due to the switching on of consuming devices with a high power requirement. A conventional generator unit for an engine with a generator driven by it is described, for example, in German Published Patent Application 38 43 161, which is provided with an analyzer circuit or computer, to which operating parameters are input, for example, motor rotation speed, generator voltage, battery voltage and the like and which influences the excitation current of the generator depending on the parameters received by it so that the load for the motor is reduced. Starter monitoring however is not provided in this generator unit. Therefore it cannot perform a reduction of the excitation current during the starting process to shorten the starting process.